Return of a Smiling Fox
by grimandgrimmer
Summary: Before he was Gin Ichimaru, he was known as Uzumaki Naruto, but was betrayed by those who he thought he could trust.  Now betrayed once again, Gin sets out to make things right.  Naruto/Bleach cross, with some Spawn elements mixed in.  Rated T for safety.
1. Death and Life once again

Ho boy, here's another story done by me, which is a challenge from the infamous man. Pretty much its Naruto gets killed by Konoha, becomes an Arrancar, dies again, and is sent back to Konoha. Instead of using an Arrancar, I've decided to use Gin Ichimaru. So yeah, I'm pretty much starting a new story once again. With that said, let's get this story on the road.

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Bleach. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

Prologue: Death and Life once again.

Gin Ichimaru chuckled to himself as he lay dying. It was ironic really. He lived a traitor to Soul Society, and he died a traitor to Aizen. The last thing he saw before his vision faded to black was the sight of Matsumoto's crying face. It was funny really. The reason he joined Aizen was because he was the one who had hurt Matsumoto, and he hoped to kill him. Instead, the man killed him, even with his Zanpakuto's weakness.

'_So this is it. I die not in a blaze glory, but lying down bleeding to death,' _Gin thought as he felt himself fading away. At least he died with no regrets.

After he passed on, he felt himself falling, and then nothing. He opened up his eyes to see nothing but darkness.

"Hello?" He called out as he started to walk into what seemed like an endless void. "Is there anyone here?" No one answered him back. Was this the afterlife or something else entirely?

"**You know, it's considered rude to enter my domain without permission."** A voice shot out from the void.

"Who's there," he asked, his voice taking on a bit of fear.

"**I'm shocked. All these year****s as a Shinigami and you don't know who I am?"** And with those words, someone appeared in front of Gin. The person was wearing a regal version of what the Shinigami wore, his face was worn with age but made him look wise beyond his years, and wore a regal headdress on his head. **"I am the King of Soul Society, the Shinigami King. And you are Gin Ichimaru, traitor to Soul Society, or not. It's been a while since I saw you."**

At those words, Gin looked confused. He hadn't met this person before, had he? Seeing his confused look, the Shinigami King chuckled to himself. **"I guess you really don't remember, do you****? Of course I know who you are. You were just of a different name."**

Gin continued to stare at him. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

At this, for the first time in known history, the King of Soul Society looked embarrassed. **"Well, this is getting us nowhere. Let me help you out a bit."** At those words, he touched two of his fingers to the temple of the ex-Shinigami.

"**I need you to remember, Gin, or should I say Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!"**

At those words, Gin felt everything come back to him. He saw flashes of his memories, but only one of them stood out.

_Flashback_

_Everything was hurting him when Naruto woke up. The first thing he saw were grey walls, the kind you saw in a dungeon. Naruto looked around him. There wasn't really anything there. The first thing he saw was that he was chained to the wall behind him. Closer inspection showed that the chains had seals engraved on him. Whatever they were, he was feeling weak as a civilian. Above him was a small window with bars on them, and in front of him was a wooden door._

_As he was looking around, he heard footsteps. He heard voices out of the door. After a while, the door was unlocked and opened to reveal Hatake Kakashi, his teacher._

_For a while, no one said anything. Then Kakashi gave out one of his famous eye smiles and said, "Sorry I'm late. I hit every roadblock on the way here."_

_Naruto gave out a weakened smile. "For once, I believe you." Then that smile disappeared and he asked, "What happened to me, Kakashi sensei? One moment I'm traveling back to Konoha, the next I find myself here."_

_At those words, his teacher looked at the ground, not meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry Naruto, but the council has decided that you're too dangerous to live. They have decided to execute you."_

_At those words, Naruto started to laugh nervously, "Kakashi sensei, that's a horrible joke, there's no way that Baachan would do such a thing."_

_Kakashi flinched. "I'm sorry, but she has already approved of it. She feels with this mission, you are just too dangerous to live. She's going to have Sasuke kill you so he can gain the Mangekyo Sharingan."_

"_Wait a sec," Naruto asked, fear coming into his voice, "What about Gaara? Can't he help me?"_

"_Unfortunately, Gaara and his brother and sister have been kicked out of Fire country. The council decided to ban him from traveling inside Fire country for three years. The Wind Daimyo is trying to send letters to the Fire Daimyo, but from what I've heard, no dice."_

_At those words, Naruto slumped down. "What about pervy sage?"_

"_He's on a mission. He won't know about what's happening until too late."_

"_What about Koyuki-chan?" Kakashi knew that Naruto was grasping for straws, trying to find anyone that could possibly help him._

"_Naruto, anyone who could help you are being kept in the dark about this. Tsunade decided to put up a message blackout. We can't send messages to anyone. They will be lifted when you are dead and in the ground."_

"_So I'm dead, aren't I?"_

"_I'm sorry Naruto. I really wish this wasn't happening to you." At those words Kakashi looked down at his former student. This shouldn't be happening to him. Truth be told, he wanted to teach all three of his students, but he had been given orders to teach only Sasuke. Kakashi protested, but their order had been firm._

_Kakashi gave a pat on Naruto's head, what would probably be the last one he would ever give him, and walked out the door._

_After that talk, Naruto sat there. No one knew of what was happening, and those that knew were unable to help. Tsunade was letting this happen, and there was nothing Naruto could do about it._

_He didn't know how long it was until the next person came, but when Naruto looked out of the window, it looked like it was night time._

_The door opened up once again, and in stepped Hinata Hyuuga. _

"_Hinata-chan, is that you?" Now Naruto was surprised. Why would she be here?_

_Hinata looked sad. "Naruto-kun, I heard what was happening to you. I know what you hold inside of you."_

"_You do?"_

"_Everyone knows. The law has been repealed. Though only a few of us don't see you as the Kyuubi, a lot of us do. Kiba won't stop saying how you're a monster and how you'll die a painful death."_

"_What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto knew the answer to this one, but he had to be sure, and Hinata's look told him all he knew._

"_Hinata, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be celebrating?"_

"_Naruto I need to tell you something," she said, and Naruto could tell she was trying not to stutter or start crying. "Ever since we first met Naruto-kun I've always admired you. I've admired your strength, your ability to never give up, everything about you. And now that this has happened, I've felt that I should tell you before you die." And with those words, Hinata left him, leaving Naruto to his thoughts._

_End flashback_

"**And so Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime and Uzumaki Kushina was put to death by decapitation at the hands of the Uchiha. However, the Uchiha never gained the Mangekyo Sharingan as people had hoped. And every year on that day, people celebrate your death."**

"Why tell me this? Why bring up old memories? Shouldn't you be taking me to Hell or something?" Gin looked very unhappy at the mention of those memories.

"**Because Gin-san, you're going back to the Elemental Nations." **The Shinigami King said to Gin in a tone that left no argument at all. However, Gin or rather Naruto chose to argue.

"Why should I? Why should I help them when they threw me away like I was trash? What's stopping me from saying no?"

"**Oh, I don't know, maybe b****ecause number one, you weren't supposed to die yet, number two, because I'm an all powerful deity and you're not, and last but not least, either you are reborn, or I can reincarnate you as a squirrel. What's it going to be, smart ass?"**

Gin gave him a small smile. "All of a sudden, you've convinced me. But the question is why?" He asked.

"**It's because there's a man named Madara Uchiha down there, or rather some pretender calling himself that is trying to capture all of the Bijuu. And before you tell m****e the Kyuubi's gone, he can summon the Kyuubi and seal him away. He's conducting something called the Moon Eye's Plan where he'll brainwash everyone on the planet. He'll eliminate free will, make people worship him. I need you to stop him."**

"Why can't you stop him? Aren't you a god?" Gin asked him.

"**Trust me, I want to go down there and turn him inside out," **the deity stated, **"However, because of an incident a long time ago, ****the other gods and I swore by the river Styx to never interfere in mortal affairs ever again unless it is absolutely necessary. This is where you come in. By acting as our 'champion' so to speak, you can go after the Akatsuki and 'Madara' himself and end this threat. If you don't the Moon Eye's Plan will succeed and we will have no choice but to destroy your world and everyone on it. And trust us; you do not want that to happen."**

Gin stood there for a long time. On one hand, he'll be reborn into the Elemental Nations, but on the other hand he'll be helping everyone, especially those in the village who betrayed him survive, without any punishment.

"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" Gin finally said with a sigh. At the Shinigami King's nod, he then said, "I'll do it, but this won't mean I'll save those who don't deserve it."

"**Don't worry; I know you want revenge on that one village. However, you need to realize that there are those that truly deserve it. Don't go around killing everyone that looks at you funny or has slighted you in the past. Use your judgment."**

"One last question, how do you know me?"

"**Because Naruto-chan, I was the one who sealed the Kyuubi inside of you."** And with those words, the King of Shinigami snapped his fingers and Gin vanished from his sight.

_Elemental Nations, outside of Fire Country capital_

Gin groaned as he got up off the ground. Whatever that Shinigami King did, it hurt a lot. However, the important thing was that he was alive once again.

"Look out Konoha-no that's not right, in fact look out Elemental Nations. Uzumaki Naruto is back, and this time, he's better than ever!" And with those words, Gin Ichimaru started his mission.

TBC

Well, that was some chapter I wrote. Looks like Naruto's alive once again, but he's not Naruto but Gin Ichimaru. But I shouldn't be stating the obvious. And I know its late, but this month is National Novel Writing Month. I'll be trying this out, and saying something would spoil it, but I'll give you a hint: it's a deconstruction of Mecha Anime. Also, I'm playing Soul Calibur III. So catch you later.


	2. Rescuing an old friend, Part 1

Wow, I really can't believe the response to this story. It's this chapter where the minor Spawn crossover comes in. Well, Here's Chapter Two.

"Talk": normal speech

"_Talk"__: flashback sequences_

"**Talk": demonic or deity speech**

"_**Talk": demonic or deity speech**_

Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto. They both belong to Tite Kubo and Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own Spawn either. Spawn belongs to Todd McFarlane.

Chapter Two: Rescuing an old friend Part 1.

Tsunade sighed as she drank what was possibly her third or fourth bottle of booze. Three years had passed. Three years since she had given the order to execute Naruto. And what was gained from it? Other than the ire of every other village that had allied with them due to Naruto, nothing.

When the council had demanded Naruto's execution, she had been the first to be against it. Why should they kill Naruto? He hadn't done anything wrong. If anything the council should've been removed for that spectacle they pulled in the village. However, she had decided to do research on the seal itself. What she found out was that the seal was weakening. Not as bad as people were saying it was, but it was weakening. The reason the seal was weakening was because Naruto had used a lot of the Kyuubi's chakra. What she had gathered from the notes left by Minato, the seal wasn't made to expel a certain amount of demon chakra, but rather it was made to have Naruto's body absorb it gradually. She had Jiraiya to thank for teaching him how to access that chakra.

As for the execution, Tsunade asked them why execution and not banishment? The council had told her that if Naruto was banished, then any other village would swoop down and ask him to join up, which would cause a lot more problems than fix, at least according to them. Eventually they had worn her down, mostly with threats.

Of course, there lied the problem. After Naruto was executed, it seemed to create a split in the village. Most ninja and a small amount of civilians had protested about Naruto's execution, the Ichirakus and surprisingly enough, Sakura's mom. Others outside the village protested as well. Of course, she had Gaara to thank for that. When she had AnBu take them out of the village for their own good, she expected them to lead them out of the village. What she didn't expect was that they attacked Kankuro, broke his puppets and pretty much threw them in the desert. After Naruto was dead, the Suna council had ended all relations to Konoha, a gutsy move by some. Gaara telling their allies what had happened to Naruto was probably Gaara's way of getting back at them.

Jiraiya had been a different story. Rather than hearing from her mouth as she had planned to do, he had heard it from one of his sources reporting it to him. If there was one thing she didn't want, it was Jiraiya being very unhappy. Of course, she had tried to explain to him that there wasn't anything anyone could have done, but the old pervert had called those reasons idiotic and said she was even worse than Sarutobi. And of course, that was when Tsunade made the biggest mistake of saying that if Minato was alive and in the same predicament as she was, he would've done the same. As soon as she said those words, she instantly regretted them. Jiraiya stood there for a while before telling her "If Dan or Nawaki could see you, they would be very disappointed." After that, Jiraiya left.

And if that wasn't enough, someone she had thought dead long ago had came back, and she was not happy about what happened to her son. She remembered it all too well.

_Flashback_

"_Hello, Tsunade."_

_Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. It had been two years since Naruto's death and so far things weren't looking good for Konoha. Most of their allies had broken off their alliances when they had heard what happened to Naruto. The only alliance they had left was with some smaller countries, and Waterfall. Waterfall had been ready to break off their alliance, had it not been for the council to have her send some ninja down there. When the village's leader protested, Tsunade had pointed out that since their village wasn't an official ninja village and didn't offer anything useful for trade other than the Hero's Water, which would not leave the village, any attempts at protest would fall on deaf ears. A bluff, but they had bought it._

"_Do I know you?"_

"_Don't you remember me? Surely you remember the face of the Yondaime's wife?"_

_Tsunade froze. "K-Kushina? But you're supposed to be dead! We saw your corpse and everything."_

_It was indeed Uzumaki Kushina. But there was something a little bit off about her. It looked as if she hadn't aged in a while. Sure her hair had started to gray, but her body didn't look any older. As for her chakra, something was off, like she could sense something wrong with it. _

"_So Tsunade, this is the welcome I get back? No hi, no how are you doing? __I guess being dead means I have no rights. Or that's just me talking nonsense."_

'_Something's not right, she looks too calm," Tsunade thought to herself. "Kushina, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_

_Kushina smirked. "Well, it's the strangest thing. While wandering around, I happen to run into Jiraiya. Since he thinks I'm dead as well, he freaks out, so I have to calm him down. After that I ask him about Naruto."_

_Tsunade knew this was coming. "What did he say?" She asked, bracing for impact._

"_He tells me that you had him executed. Decapitation by the last Uchiha. And you want to know what else he said?"_

_The Fifth Hokage knew what was coming next but said nothing._

"_He told me that if Minato was in your place, he would've done the same thing." At those words, Kushina's smile instantly turned into a scowl. "How dare you! You have the gall to say that, knowing damn well that Minato would've fought tooth and nail if he was ordered to kill his own son. And yet you said it like that would help your case. So why was Naruto killed?"_

"_There was no other choice. If we had b__anished Naruto, he would've fallen into the clutches of another village and he would've gotten revenge on us. As for the reason he was killed, the seal was weakening, and it was thanks to Jiraiya that it was weakening. That seal was meant for Naruto to absorb the demonic chakra gradually, not use it in huge bursts. A couple more and he would've broken the seal. And truth be told, we wouldn't be able to handle another Kyuubi attack. We have no Uzumaki other than Naruto and apparently you now that you're not dead. Another reason is that Akatsuki was after the other Jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki were made up of nine S-class criminals, Kushina. We're not equipped to deal with them. As for the Uchiha, he would've received the Mangekyo Sharingan if he killed Naruto, seeing as they were friends and all, so we let him kill Naruto._

_Kushina shook her head in disbelief. "I hear your reasons, and already I can pinpoint the holes in them. Number one, if the seal had been weakening nothing bad would've happened since there were some fail safes put in. Number two, do you actually think the Akatsuki will leave you alone after getting rid of the strongest Bijuu of them all? Regardless of what you did, they would've killed you and everyone else in this village. Three, killing a jinchuuriki wouldn't mean that Kyuubi would die; he would reform a few years later. Four, do you really doubt Minato's sealing techniques? And finally, the fifth reason your reasoning sucks and Sasuke didn't receive the Mangekyo was that if he had told anyone the requirements of getting it, they would instantly stop being his friend. So what do you say to that?"_

_Tsunade sat there for a while. Finally she spoke. "It doesn't matter what you think, because what's done is done. I don't know how you're alive, but you are and that's what matters. So now, we are going to decide what to do with you."_

"_And what makes you think I'll come quietly?" Kushina asked her._

_At those words, Tsunade allowed herself to smile a little. "You think you can just leave after you barge in here without permission? Not to mention you're alive, and I can sense something off about your chakra. We'll need to turn you over to our interrogators for questioning. After that, you'll be back in active duty. If you refuse, let's just say it won't be pretty."_

"_So you noticed my chakra, didn't you? Well, let me show you something the Shinigami gave me. In return for returning to the living, he gave me a gift." With those words, Kushina expelled some sort__ of chakra. Only this chakra was black, and didn't look quite like any chakra anyone has ever seen. The chakra covered her like it was some sort of suit. A moment later, the chakra solidified. What Kushina was wearing defied all logic. Kushina was in some sort of skintight suit which was mostly black. The only sort of color was the white v-stripe that was on her chest. They were also markings on her hands and most of her arms that were colored red like they were supposed to be gloves with a white band around them. She was also wearing a cape, which was connected to her by skull like coupling that looked like they were alive. The mask was awe-inspiring. Like the suit, it was black, but with white markings around the eyes. The eyes were green in color, and it felt like they were staring into her soul._

"_Like it? The Shinigami said he won this suit from some uppity demon. This suit is what keeps me alive. The Shinigami fixed it up a bit. It's pretty useful, since I can't use__ my chakra as well as I used to. However, I can do this!" And with those words, Kushina shot out a sickly green colored beam of energy and flew out. By the time the Godaime got over her shock, Kushina was long gone._

_End flashback_

After that spectacle, Tsunade put Kushina in the bingo book as an A rank criminal, to be returned back to the village.

As she kept thinking about the past, the secretary poked her head in and said, "Team Seven reporting for duty, Hokage-sama."

"Send them in."

Team Seven walked inside the Hokage's office. Sasuke hadn't changed much; he wore pretty much the same outfit he used to wear; only he wore a jacket with the Uchiha crest on the back. He still talked about killing his brother. Sakura had changed a lot. She trained under Tsunade, but the biggest change was that she didn't chase after Sasuke like she did three years ago. She mostly avoided her crush nowadays, only talking to him if she needed to. Sai was an enigma however. The old war hawk Danzo had sent him over to fill up the spot of third team member. Sai freaked a lot of people out. He talked about a lot of inappropriate stuff, gave nicknames to people, and all he did was draw.

Their sensei was different however. After Naruto's death, Kakashi had resigned and went back into AnBu. She tried everything to convince him not to quit, but to no avail. So she got a new sensei, Yamato. Yamato had one special trait. He was able to use Mokuton, a result of Orochimaru's experiments. Originally, he would be able to restrain Naruto so he wouldn't go wild, but with him dead, it didn't really matter anymore.

"Team Seven reporting for duty, Hokage-sama." Yamato said.

She nodded. "Good, now Team Seven I have a mission for you. I've gotten a messenger hawk that says Suna has been attacked. Their Kazekage has been captured. Your mission is to rescue their Kazekage and bring him back alive. As for any Akatsuki, you are to engage them only when necessary."

At those words, Sasuke added in his two cents. "Why should we help them? They abandoned us when we killed the loser, so we should do the same."

"Because if we rescue them, we could get in their good graces once again." That was Sakura. She gave him a look that pretty much asked if he was stupid.

Not wanting a fight, Tsunade said, "You know your mission, now go. Yamato, I need to talk to you about something."

After the team had left, Tsunade handed Yamato a scroll. He opened it and read the contents. After putting the scroll in his pocket, he asked, "Is what it says true?"

Tsunade nodded. "I'm afraid it is. In order to return things as they were before, the Subaku blood must end. Your mission is S class and top secret. You are to kill Gaara if he survives. Temari and Kankuro are to be dealt with too. If anyone tries to stop you, then kill them. Do not let anyone see that scroll, do you understand?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." And with those words, Yamato left the Hokage's office. What they didn't know was that by accepting that mission, Konoha's fate was sealed.

_Deserts of Kaze no Kuni_

As Gin traveled towards the city of Suna, he thought about how he was going to explain who he was to Gaara. If he had gone anywhere else he probably would've been disbelieved, or worse attacked. Konoha was out of the question. He hoped that Suna and Konoha weren't allies anymore, or if they were, he hoped Gaara didn't turn him over to them.

Of course, at first he had a little problem. Because he was reborn as Gin Ichimaru, he discovered he had no chakra anymore. His reiatsu on the other hand, he still had it but the problem was since he was alive, it wasn't as strong as it was supposed to be when he was a Shinigami. That meant his Shunpo wasn't as fast as it was supposed to, but it was fast enough for him to get to Suna.

By the time he got to Sunagakure, he felt something was wrong. Most of the buildings looked like they had been blown up, puppet parts were strewn across the sand, and he had tripped over a body.

Gin picked himself off the ground and spat out some sand. _'I hate deserts.' _ He thought to himself. He then looked down. The guy's face was covered in makeup, but right now he looked as if he was in pain.

"Kankuro, is that you?" Gin asked him.

"Who the hell are you? I don't remember seeing some grey haired dude in Suna before."

"Oh my, looks like you've been poisoned. Better get you to a hospital." Gin said as he lifted Kankuro onto his shoulder and started to run towards the gate, easily bypassing the stunned guards stationed there.

Inside Suna, it was a lot worse. Suna looked like as if it had been bombed. Especially one with high grade explosives. Whoever had done this probably thought 'to hell with planning it out' and bombed the whole village. He kept running around a while until he saw the hospital and pretty much barged in and demanded a doctor.

With Kankuro being taken care of, Naruto turned toward who he thought was Baki. "What happened here?"

Baki, the man that had taught Gaara and his siblings replied, "Well as you can see, we've been attacked. It was by some people from Akatsuki, one named Deidara and another that had betrayed us named Sasori. By the way, who are you?"

Gin gave him an innocent smile. "I'm an old friend of Gaara's. My name is Gin Ichimaru."

"I don't believe that. One, I've never seen any grey-"

"My hair is silver; I'm not an old man, yet."

"Whatever. I don't who you are or where you came from. For all I know you're probably from Konoha. If you are from Konoha, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Gin smiled. So Konoha and Suna weren't allies anymore. "I'm not from Konoha, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just a lone swordsman traveling around the Elemental Nations."

Baki cocked an eyebrow. "Either you're a good liar or I'm getting old. The point is our leader had been kidnapped. We'll probably have to send a team out to get him back."

"I'll do it."

Baki turned right back towards Gin, disbelief written all over the man's face. "Are you kidding me? These men are S class criminals! A Kage would be hard pressed to fight them, much less beat them. And you, a swordsman, who we have no idea of, wants to fight them?"

Gin smiled. "Of course I do. I'll get him back, and I'll do it for free. Besides, what choice do you have?"

Baki froze. He was right. They had no other choice. One of their elders, Chiyo would be able to beat them, but she was getting in on her age. Maybe this guy would be able to get Gaara back.

_River Country, Akatsuki base_

"That was too easy, hm." Deidara boasted as he threw the Kazekage's body in front of the statue. The Kazekage had put up a fight, but in the end they had won. It was too bad the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was dead, but their leader had promised them the Kyuubi and Konoha afterwards.

"Calm down Deidara, we're not out of the woods just yet. We have to seal the Shukaku up first. After that we have to get out of here." Sasori said to his partner.

"_Precisely,"_ their leader stated as he and six others appeared. _"Congratulations on capturing the Sh__ukaku. Soon our dream shall be realized."_

"_Of course, but what about…" _another person, one that looked like a Venus flytrap said in one voice, smooth as silk, and then another voice, rough finished the sentence with, _**"Konoha or Suna? They'll probably se**__**nd a team after us."**_ At those words, a rumble came from the rock that had blocked the entrance. Then another, and then another, until a resounding crack erupted from the rock and broke it, revealing to be a silver haired man, with a smirk on his lips and wearing a white outfit. In his hands was some sort of wakizashi, with the hilt in an S-shape. Besides him was an older woman.

"Oh my, look who I have found. Two known criminals with the Kazekage along with six other criminals. Last time I checked, kidnapping is illegal, is it not?"

For a moment, no one said anything. They Deidara asked, "Who the hell are you?"

The silver haired man smiled. "My name is Gin Ichimaru. And you, my friend are trash."

TBC

That's it for the second chapter. Next chapter will have the big fight scene that everyone's waiting for. And as for Kushina's new ability, yes she is the new Spawn, only one from the Elemental Nations. So I'll see you guys next time!


	3. Rescuing an old friend, Part 2

Hello, I'm back again for another chapter. After what has been a long time since I updated, I bring you the third chapter. Now I have to apologize for this chapter because it's bad. Not horrible bad, but bad as in I could do a lot better. I might rewrite this chapter so it doesn't sound like crap. But for now, here it is.

Disclaimer: see chapters one and two for the disclaimers.

Chapter three: rescuing an old friend, Part 2

For what seemed like a minute, both Deidara and Sasori said nothing. Then finally, a chuckle was heard. Gin turned towards Deidara, who was trying his best not to laugh. Unfortunately for the blonde bomber, he was unsuccessful and started to laugh out loud. After a couple of minutes he was finally able to compose himself.

"Look at this Sasori-san," Deidara said with a sneer on his face. "This guy here looks like he wants to be the first to die. I don't think he even knows who we are."

"Now Deidara, we can't kill every stupid person we come across. After all, we have to educate this fool first." But at the same time Sasori was worried. Not at Gin, but at the person next to him. If he knew who this person was, then this mission got a lot more dangerous.

Gin merely smirked. "Oh, you really think so? You think I don't know about you being in the Akatsuki? That you're kidnapping Bijuu for some plan that won't work? So educate me on what I don't know?"

At those words Deidara turned towards Sasori. "How did he know that? I mean, we don't really advertise our plans to the public."

At those words Sasori glared at the blonde bomber. "Or maybe you've admitted at what we do. Next time, keep your mouth shut." After telling off Deidara he turned to the holograms of his superiors. "What is our next course of action?"

The leader looked at Sasori. "Take the body and meet us at our real base. You have my permission to kill them." And with those words, the leader and the members disappeared. If he could, Gin could've sworn that Sasori had smirked.

"You heard the boss man, let's get out of here!" And with that proclamation, Deidara had hopped on his clay bird and was ready to take off when the silver haired man pulled out what looked like a wakizashi from the scabbard.

Deidara laughed for the second time that day. "What are you going to do with that sword, throw it at us?"

Gin smiled and pointed the sword at him. "Shoot to kill, Shinso."

At those words, despite it being impossible, the sword blade shot out, extending itself at the blonde at an impossible speed. Before anyone could react, the sword impaled Deidara through the stomach and retracted. Blood started to spurt wildly from his wound, causing Deidara to let out a scream of horror and fall down clutching his stomach.

"What the hell, man! How the hell did you do that?"

Gin merely shrugged and said, "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Besides, what's the point of explaining it to all of you since you and your friend are going to die?"

Sasori merely looked down at his fallen comrade. Without an ounce of regret, he brought his scorpion tail down on Deidara, killing him instantly.

"Why did you do that? Wasn't he your ally?" The old woman asked.

Sasori seemed to give out a grunt. "He would've died anyway. Besides, we're only allies because we were assigned to be allies. I never did care if he lived or died. Now you," he turned to Gin, "you're something special. Was extending your sword some kind of bloodline? If so, then I've never seen anything like it."

Gin shook his head. "No, this isn't a bloodline. Now how about we stop the talk and fight, unless you're going to talk us to death?"

Sasori nodded and sent his scorpion tail towards Gin. However, the tail stopped short. Sasori narrowed his eyes at the one who interfered. "I should've known you would be here, Chiyo-baachan."

The woman, who was now named Chiyo, pulled down the cloak she had been wearing. "I know, and I want to know why. Why did you kill the Sandaime Kazekage? Why have you joined them?"

Sasori chucked. "You don't get it, do you? I killed him because he was in the way. I joined them so they would help me reach my goal. They will help me make my art eternal. You wouldn't understand, after all you thought the same thing."

Chiyo shook her head. "Sasori, you don't understand…"

"Wait a second, you two were related?" Gin had decided to but into the conversation. What irked both Chiyo and Sasori was that his grin was still on his face.

Chiyo nodded. "He was my grandson. When his parents both died, I took him in. I tried to help him get over his grief, but it was no use."

Sasori smirked. "You never tried to help me get over my grief. You left me to my own devices. I had to raise myself."

Chiyo shook her head. "You're wrong. I did raise you, but you fought back against me. Even when I trained you, it wasn't enough for you. You were…"

"Enough!" He snapped. "You think by trying to explain yourself will fix everything? You're wrong, and you'll always be wrong. Now die!"

Gin stepped out and shot his palm out. "Hado 31: Shakkaho!" A red ball of energy shot out from his palm and impacted the puppeteer, creating an explosion that created a lot of smoke, making it difficult for anyone to see. When the smoke cleared out, most of the body was missing, showing a now empty hollow space.

"Be honored, for no one has seen my true form until now." A voice said behind them. They jumped out of the way just in time for a puppet to attack them. Chiyo's eyes widen in shock when she saw it.

"That's the Third Kazekage! You turned him into an abomination!" She yelled out. Gin's eyes seemed to narrow. "I'm guessing this is your art? Desecrating a corpse to put on a puppet show? That's low."

Sasori shot him a look. "What you say is irrelevant. My art is not an abomination. You should know this, Chiyo-baachan, you've done this before."

"I haven't done it in a long time. You, on the other hand, turned a symbol of our village into a mockery! I will not stand for this!" Chiyo shot out, ready to use her puppets, but Gin held up a hand to stop her. For the first time since meeting him, Gin wasn't smiling.

"Let me handle this, Chiyo-baachan." Gin said to her, no humor in his tone of voice.

Sasori smirked. "And what will you do?"

"I will do this." With those words, he shot his sword out. "Shoot to kill, Shinso!" His sword's blade extended once more towards Sasori, but what looked like black sand blocked him from doing so. Sasori chuckled. "My puppet's ability is Iron Sand. With it, I can protect myself easily. You should've seen this coming, Gin-san."

Gin smirked. "You're right; I should've seen this coming. However, I'm afraid that I have the perfect counter for this." Before anyone could blink, Gin appeared behind Sasori, taking him by surprise and pointed his index and middle finger out. "Hado 4: Byakurai!" When he said those words, electricity shot out of his fingers and immediately blasted Sasori apart. Stunned, the puppet master fell to the ground, his puppet following him.

Sasori tried to get up, but was unable to, as half his body had been completely destroyed. The right side of his body had been vaporized, making his right hand completely useless. Gin smirked. He then turned the wounded man's body over and reached down towards his chest. "My my, I wonder what this is." At those words, he placed his hand on a cylinder that was inside his chest. The cylinder was colored bright red. He brought out his sword and thrusts it towards his cylinder. When he had run the blade through, Sasori had died.

"That was anticlimactic," Gin said, sounding almost disappointed. "I thought for sure that they would put up a decent fight. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk." He then turned towards the downed Kazekage. "Could you take care of the two bodies here? I'll be carrying the Kazekage."

Chiyo could only nod. This swordsman had been able to take down Sasori with ease. And he barely broke a sweat. She gathered up both Deidara and Sasori, sealing their bodies away, and went after the Third Kazekage. After all, now that they knew what had happened to the Third Kazekage, they could give the man a burial.

_Sunagakure hospital, two days later_

Gaara woke up with a start. "What happened? The last thing I remembered was being knocked out by that bomber."

"Gaara, you're alive!" Temari exclaimed, hugging the redhead. Gaara looked stunned. "Temari how is it that you're able to hug me without the sand coming out?"

"That would be me, Kazekage-san." Chiyo said. "I was the one who had sealed the Shukaku inside of your mother so that you would be able to have it. However, the seal had to be weakened so that you would be able to access its powers easily. When we rescued you, I decided to strengthen the seal. Consider it an apology for what I had done to you."

Gaara nodded. "I thank you, Chiyo-sama. So who helped you? Was it Temari, or Kankuro?"

Temari's eyes darkened a bit. "Neither of us went with Chiyo. We tried to, but the Suna council forbade it."

"I see." Gaara knew about this. The Suna council had been with him when they canceled all trade with Konoha, but when he was nominated to be Kazekage, they had been against it. They tried to pick someone else, but most people in Suna wanted Gaara to be their leader. No matter, they would be dealt with later on. "So did they send anyone else out to help Chiyo-san?"

"There was one person, but he claimed to have known you. Do you know anyone by the name of Ichimaru Gin?"

"No, I do not know anyone by that name." Gaara was confused. Who was Gin, anyway?

"So you don't know who I am? I guess that's understandable, see that I have changed since we last saw each other." Gin said.

"Whoa, how did you get in here? I thought there were guards here!" Kankuro exclaimed angrily. "Now spill it, who are you? And why do you claim to know Gaara?"

Gin smirked. "I see, so you don't recognize me. After all, don't you remember three years ago?"

Temari's eyes widened. "Are you implying that…?"

"I know I look different, but let me give you another hint. I used the toads to beat your brother into submission."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "You could've gotten that from anyone who had been there, or you would've seen it happen."

"Wrong. I don't think anyone would remember a silver haired man during the exams in Konoha. And besides, how many people other than you would know someone by the name of Gin Ichimaru? Nobody, that is."

Gaara said nothing for a while. Then he smiled for the first time in what had been a long time. "It's good to see you, old friend. So what's it like on the other side?"

Gin merely waved his hand a bit. "It's boring, you wouldn't be interested. So what about you guys? Did anything happen after I died?"

Kankuro was the first to speak up. He didn't know if this was Naruto or not, but he decided not to complain. "After you died, we sort of spread the word to the other villages about what happened to you. To make a long story short, they canceled all treaties to Konoha. They managed to keep one with Waterfall, but that's it."

"I'm guessing the old lady wasn't happy when that happened." Gin chuckled.

Gaara's smile faded. "It's like she's a whole new person, Naruto. When we went there to nullify the alliance, she threatened us. She told us that we should be grateful that she spared our lives. When we didn't change our minds, she told us to watch our backs, because she'll never forgive us for betraying her.

"I see." This was troubling. What had happened to the Kage that thought of her as a grandson? What made her change?

Just as he was about to say something else, there was a knock at the door. A voice said, "Excuse me Kazekage-sama, but there is a team from Konoha saying that they need to see you."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Last time I checked, they weren't welcome in this village. What gave them the right to come back in after all they had done?"

The voice didn't say anything. Finally Gaara sighed. "You know what; tell them to get out before we throw them out into the desert. Give them a taste of their own medicine."

After they were sure the voice was gone, Kankuro turned to his brother. "You sure that was a good idea, Gaara?"

Gaara nodded. "Technically, they aren't allowed here. They threw us out of the village, and as soon as I become Kazekage they demand that I hand over my sister? They throw us out and demand I do as they are told? Not while I'm alive." Seeing Gin's confused face, he explained, "They wanted to discuss a marriage proposal between my sister and the Uchiha. When I told them no, they exploded, acting like they had every right to be making demands for me to follow. I told them no once again. I thought that was the end of it."

Just then, the same voice from before came back. "Kazekage-sama, the Konoha ninjas have demanded that they see you. They said it was urgent that they saw you now."

Gaara sighed and shook his head. "What are you going to do now, Gaara?" Gin asked.

"If they're demanding to see me, we might as well have them come in." Gaara said, and then turned to the voice that was at the door. "Send them in." The door opened to show the team from Konoha. Gin recognized the first two. They were Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Sasuke had been the one to execute him. From what the Shinigami King had told him, Sasuke hadn't received the Mangekyo Sharingan. Sakura wore what looked like an older version of what she wore when they were a team. However she was wearing gloves, bicycle shorts, and what looked like to be a combination between boots and sandals. The third person looked a bit like Sasuke, but his hair was smoothed down, and he wore what looked like an AnBu uniform. In his right hand was a small book. Their leader wore standard AnBu uniform, a faceplate with the Konoha symbol, and had a simple, plain face.

For a while, no one said anything. After what seemed to be two minutes, the plain faced AnBu spoke. "I see that you are alive and well Kazekage-sama," the man said.

Gaara nodded. "Thank you for your concern, even though I am reluctant to trust it. Now what is it that you want?"

It was right there that Sasuke decided to make his presence known. "If you must know, we need to know what happened. We need to know whether or not you still have your little pet with you."

Gaara knew what he was talking about. "The Shukaku is indeed inside me still. Why are you asking me about this?"

"I just wanted to know. After all, the last thing we need to happen is to make the enemy stronger."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were threatening my little brother."

Sai turned towards her with one of his smiles. "Are you accusing us of anything, Temari-san?"

Gin then decided to butt into the conversation. "I think she does have the right to accuse you of making threats. After all, you did throw them into the desert."

The older looking man turned to the silver haired man. "I'm afraid that you don't have the right to poke your nose into other people's business. After all, this doesn't concern you, mister-"

"The name is Ichimaru Gin, my friend. Now what is your name?"

"My name is Yamato. As I said before, you shouldn't poke your nose into other people's business. After all, this is between us and the Kazekage."

"Oh my, looks like someone is trying to throw their weight around." Gin said, smirking to the team. "Give me one good reason as to why I should obey you."

Sasuke smirked. "The reason is because out of all of the five main villages, Konoha is the strongest. Therefore, we are the strongest. So the last thing anyone should do is make us mad."

Gin's smile grew even bigger when the Uchiha had said that. "Oh no, help me, I just made Konoha angry!" He exclaimed sarcastically. "You think anyone here cares who you are? They couldn't care less if your village was chosen by the gods to be the greatest in all the land. So my advice is to keep that mouth shut, child."

Sasuke made a move to charge at him, but Sakura threw her hand out. "Stand down, Sasuke. The last thing we need is to cause an incident." Turning her eyes to Gin, she asked him, "And what is your relationship with the Kazekage? Are you a friend of his?"

Gin nodded. "You could say that. And why are you here?"

"We were here to rescue the Kazekage, but since it's been done already, we have decided to see if you would like to make an alliance with Konoha," Yamato said, his tone serious.

"You know what my answer is, and it is no." Gaara said, his tone declaring that there will be no argument.

Yamato's eyes narrowed. "Kazekage-sama, I think it would be in your best interest to have an alliance with us. After all, I think it would be better in the long run if you were to do it."

Now it was Gaara's turn to narrow his eyes. "Is that a threat?" He said with a voice full of anger.

Sasuke smirked. "You could say it is. After all, it is better to be with us rather than against us. And that contract between Temari and I, it's still open if you want to accept it."

Temari shook her head. "You know my answer, and it is no. Why can't you just accept that?"

Sai gave out another of his smiles. "What's wrong with accept a contract to one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha? After all, to receive a proposal from the Uchiha is an honor."

Yamato nodded. "I really don't get why you won't accept. Is it because of Naruto?"

Sasuke smiled. "I think it is. I think she had a crush on Naruto. Why can't you accept that he's dead? After all, he was too much of a threat, and besides I am a lot-"

He never finished his sentence because the next thing he knew, he received a punch to the back of the skull courtesy on Gin. The strange thing was that the whole time, he had never dropped his smile.

"I think it's time you left, team from Konoha." Gin said.

Sasuke looked like he would protest, but Yamato put his hand on his shoulder. "I agree. But Kazekage-sama, the offer is still open. I do hope that you make the right decision." And with those words, the team from Konoha walked out of the room.

For a while, no one said anything. Then Gin spoke up. "So you had a crush on me when I was alive?"

Temari glared at him. "This is neither the time nor the place, Gin-san."

"Are you sure? Because I think you are very-"

"Just how old are you, Ichimaru?"

"Technically, I'm probably about a few thousand years old."

Everyone stared at him like he was insane. "Time passes real fast in Soul Society." Everyone nodded like they understood, then Temari said, "You are way too old for me. And like I said, this is neither the time nor the place to discuss this. Right now, we may have to do damage control. With what you did probably won't make us look good in Konoha. The last thing we need is a war with Konoha."

Gaara shrugged his shoulders. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, I need to ask Gin something." He turned towards Gin. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'll have to leave in the morning, and figure out how to find Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. I'll have to kill them both. But first, I have to find an army to help me combat them.

Gaara nodded at that. Then, he had an idea.

"Gin, I think I may know how I can help you out."

TBC

So that's chapter three. Next time, we focus mostly on everyone else in Konoha, especially Hinata. And we also focus on Uzumaki Kushina. So stay tuned. In the mean time, check out some new stories I wrote up.


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